as going?"

"He said he was bound for Paris on business connected with some patents
he was applying for. He told us he would be absent for two or three
days; and as a matter of fact, he was away for ten."

"That would about fit in," remarked the detective, after a moment's
thought. "But of that you shall judge for yourself." He moistened his
lips and pulled at his cigar until it was well alight, and then he
commenced his story.

"I carried out my original intention, and the night after I left you I
caught the 8.30 at Liverpool Street. The next morning I was in
Amsterdam. I stayed there three days, until I was quite convinced that
no such parcel of diamonds as had been stolen had been offered for sale
to any of the Dutch dealers. I could not have failed to hear of it if
any such attempt had been made. While there I had the good fortune to
make the acquaintance of a Russian agent, whose work I fancy must have
been largely political. Ivan Stroviloff his name was, and he had
acquaintances in most European capitals. I discussed the matter with
him. He thought that an attempt to dispose of the stones was much more
likely to be made in Vienna or St. Petersburg than anywhere else except
Paris. I was aware of our agents in Paris having been fully informed,
and I knew it was not worth my while to go there; but beyond notifying
the Austrian police, I doubted whether any steps had been taken in
regard to Vienna, so I determined to proceed to the Austrian capital.
Stroviloff proved a very decent fellow, rather an exception to the
general run, for I don't take to those Russian agents as a rule; and as
I was able to give him a few hints and some introductions over here--he
was going on to London--he gave me in return letters to some of his
colleagues in Vienna and Petersburg, thinking they would probably be of
more use to me than application through the usual official channels.
Well, I went on to Vienna. I won't weary you with a history of my
fruitless inquiries, it would take far too much time. Anyhow, I did find
eventually that a parcel of diamonds had been disposed of there, and, as
Stroviloff had predicted, I obtained the information through one of the
Russian agents and not through the Viennese police. I will say that I do
not see how the latter could have helped me, for the purchaser was the
representative of a Petersburg house who happened to be in Vienna for
the purpose of attending the sale of the Princess Novikoff's jewels